Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service
We all want high-quality health care, but it's hard to know how to choose. There are many things to consider, including:
- What your insurance covers
- Whether a health care provider or service is accredited
- The location of a service
- Hours that the service is available
- Whether you like a health care provider's personality
On this page you'll find information to help you choose a health care provider or service.
It sits within Health System and Personal Health Issues.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute on Aging.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- How to Choose a Doctor You Can Talk toNational Institute on Aging
- How to Choose a Family DoctorAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
Related Issues
- 6 Things to Know When Selecting a Complementary Health PractitionerNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight-Loss ProgramNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Finding Cancer CareNational Cancer Institute
- Health Care Providers: Family DoctorsNemours Foundation
- Mental Health Providers: Tips on Finding OneMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Ambulatory Care Use and Physician Office VisitsNational Center for Health Statistics
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Delivery of Health Care, Physician-Patient Relations. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.